Brave new world
by 77SummerSun77
Summary: [The story takes place after the defeat of Malachite] Things just didn't seem to go Jasper's way...or do they?
1. Alone at sea

[Author's note:This story contains Jasper, Amethyst, Peridot, Steven, Lapis, Pearl,Garnet and some Beach City peeps- with the main focus on Jasper (the written point of view will change from time to time though). Feel free to interpret this fanficion as you wish^^ It may have some hints for possible ships but pretty much everything can also be interpreted as platonic ;)]

 **Jasper**

She didn't want to be here. It hurt too much... Lapis was talking to her again, that concerned look still in her eyes. It was mixed with irritation, but mostly concern. It almost touched her. Almost.

Jasper threw a punch at the traitorous gem. She was sick of this hideous planet and all of it's life forms, including the Crystal Gems. All she wanted was to be free, to go home, and knocking Lapis out of her way would finally get her there that much faster. She wasn't surprised when Lapis easily avoided the blow. After all, she was only moving with a fraction of her concentration in place. Now Lapis had her hands on Jasper's shoulders, pressed her down to the ground and seemed to be yelling at her. Jasper thrust her hands up and broke the other gem's grip, thrusting her hands forward and pushing her off. This hurt even more. Damnit, she wanted the pain to stop. Lapis was getting frustrated now. She could see that, at least through the fog that clouded her current existence. Jasper felt a blow across her cheek, a hard one, she hadn't even bothered to block it.

Why couldn't the pain just stop? When would it end? What would release her from this?!

"Lapis!"

Jasper woke slowly. Sluggishly. Every cell in her body feeling as if it had exploded, and then been violently reshuffed as she rolled onto her back and stared at the azure blue sky. She moved her head carefully to the side and saw that she was lying on a beach. She took a sharp breath when her eyes met the calm sea. Where was Lapis? Did they finally unfuse? _…_ Alexandrite...

Jasper groaned, and her throat felt not unlike she had been gargling acid. Her mind was turning over everything that had happened, from her fight against the Garnet fusion to to the defeat of Malachite. The fact that all of these battles were completely unfair, was still bugging her. First off, Garnet were a fusion plus that sassy gem didn't even really beat her. Jasper still had been able to fight even after she was electrified by the ship's force field and after she was buried under it's debris. Then there was Lapis, who was only able to keep her imprisoned for such a long time because she had the WHOLE ocean on her side. Well and the battle against Alexandrite was two vs. four.

Jasper groaned again and closed her eyes. Why was she still alive? Was she even still alive? Then again, she felt too bad to be dead. But how did she and Lapis survive the final strike of Alexandrite? Didn't the Crytsal Gems care to shatter her and Lapis? They were their enemies after all _..._ Maybe those traitors hadn't found them yet.

 _'Lapis...'_

Still wondering what had happened, she dozed off.

When Jasper awoke again, the pain still hasn't faded. What was wrong with her? Why did it feel so hard to move? She remembered the Lapis' punch on her cheek and wondered whether it was all just a dream or if Lapis really had been there and then left her, lying on the beach.

 _'Stupid Lapis',_ she thought angrily. _'Stupid little gem...'_

Then again... Maybe it really had been just dream. Jasper knew what a dream was. _S_ he had experienced sleep a long long time ago. That was before Rose had started her rebellion...

But she didn't want to sleep! Not at a time like this! Where the Crystal Gems could appear at any moment and shatter her. Something was really wrong with her...

She forced herself to sit up and carefully touched her gem. She cringed when she felt the small crack.

 _'I'm broken. Useless. Trash. I can't get back. I failed my mission. They're going to recycle me...'_

Jasper pushed the thoughts away quickly. She wouldn't think about what couldn't be changed.

 _'There has to be a way to fix my gem.'_

She thought of Lapis _..._

 _'Rose! … Or was it... Steven?'_ She slowly shook her head and dismissed the thought immediantly. No. Those traitors cleary must have been lying. This boy has her gem and her shild. Who knows why she had choosen to pick such a strange looking physical form... _'Rose could fix me!'_ Jasper thought grimly. _'She fixed the Lazuli's gem. I just have to force her to fix mine as well!'_

In moments like these – quite moments – Jasper sometimes let herself think about her difficult past with Rose. Sometimes she felt only curious detachment when she thought of her, other times, a fierce, dull anger, like a rock burning at the bottom of her stomach (if she would have one), and occasionally, a kind of longing she had no name for; like the tug she had felt while hearing a song which she used to love... a long time ago...

The sun warmed her face and the knot in her stomach began to loosen a bit. Suddenly, she heard the sound of running footsteps coming nearer. Jasper froze.

 _'They will try to shatter me!'_ She thought and anger rose in her throat, choking her.

Jasper quickly stood up on shaky legs and turned around, fighting the dizziness and the sharp pain that flew through her whole body. It was the Amethyst! When the little gem came to a halt, leaving some distance between them, Jasper was doing her best to look unimpressed and glared at the tiny twerp before her.

After a short moment of silence the Amethyst began to smirk. "Found ya."


	2. Twerp talking

**Jasper**

"Jeez, it's worse than I thought." Amethyst let out a long sigh, took another step forward and to Jasper's surprise, dared to sit down right in front of her. "Okay, look", she said and raked a hand through her hair. "You guys think you're supposed to keep your head down and always obey the rules. But why don't ya just try to follow your own path here on earth? It's pretty cool. Trust me! There is sooooo much you could do! Oh, I know! You could totally become my wrestling partner! And we call you... Um... The orange tigress! Yes! How does that sound?!"

The Amethyst was smiling hugely and clapped Jasper so hard on the arm that she was seriously considering to summon her weapon again. Instead she just stared at her, eyes flashing, halfway between being impressed and annoyed of this odd behavior. The Amethyst however ignored her death stare.

"Pretty awesome, right?!" she said, still grinning. "And Steven can think of a good background story for ya!"

Jasper remained silent, not sure if she understood what the tiny twerp was babbling about.

"I know you Homeworld peeps don't know it any better, but one of the reasons, we love earth so much, is, because here we can be whoever we wanna be. You don't have to be a warrior just because you were made to be one. Here you can do whatever you wanna do. You're free. Don't you see how great that is?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Jasper paused long enough to glare at her. The words the Amethyst had said, left a cold sliver of rain down Jasper's spine. "When I abandon what I am meant to be, what my Diamond wants me to be, then nothing will be left of me! There would be no meaning in my existence anymore!"

Jasper tried to get up on her feet again but the pain was simply too much and she felt how her body began to glitch for a second or two. Ignoring the growing fear, she sat down and stared furiously at the Amethyst.

"Jasper! C'mon! Can't you see how messed up Homeworld is?!"

"I AM NOT A TRAITOR!", Jasper shouted.

"You just don't get it!", Amethyst yelled back frustrated. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?! Don't you see? You can't go back to Homeworld. They would shatter you! They already sent some gems to retrieve you. Luckily they were pretty dumb and we tricked them to look for you on Neptune."

"W- what did you just say?" Jasper felt a desperate panic clawing it's way up her chest. Yellow Diamond wanted her to be shattered?

"Pshaw", Amethyst said and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about a thing. You're safe with us. We've got your back."

Feeling completly empty inside, Jasper took a deep breath and avoided the Amethyst' gaze. She wouldn't think about that now. She would find a way to regain her honor. She would survive. Like she always did. She wouldn't allow herself to get distracted by emotions...

"If you don't intend to fight me then go away! Leave me alone!" Jasper snapped.

"Don't feel like it", the Amethyst replyed and Jasper heard the challenge in her voice.

"Then why do you continue to annoy me?"

"It's not my fault you're so grumpy."

"Actually, it is", Jasper said sharply.

"If you would just listen to me for a sec... Man, Steven is really better at these things..."

"You mean Rose?"

"Wha'?" Amethyst gave her a startled look. "No, he's Steven, her son."

"What's a son?", she asked in confusion and crossed her arms.

"Ha, now you sound just like Peri", the Amethyst giggled.

"I do not sound like that annoying Gemling!"

"Whatever. Rose gave birth to Steven by loving a male human- but don't ask me for details! Steven does have her gem but he is his own being. Half human, half gem. Rose gave up her existence to create him."

Jasper's mind had gone blanc with shock. It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink. "Why,- why would she do something like that?! How is this even possible?"

"Love", the Amethyst replyed simply and shrugged.

"So... Rose is no more?"

"I dunno. Guess not. But who knows? Steven does have her gem and her weapon after all. Sometimes he reminds me of her."

There were several long moments of silence, in which Jasper's mind painted an image of Rose, surrounded by several different gems, who were listening to her songs. Jasper felt drained and strangely empty at this memory... She really hated singing...

"I really hoped to see her again... I guess... I will miss her", Jasper murmured absentmindedly, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't intended for that to slip out, and wasn't sure why it had been on her mind in the first place.

"I miss her too", the Amethyst admitted, giving Jasper a surprised but gentle smile.

Pushing the distracting thought aside, Jasper changed the subject, embarrassed about loosing control of her emotions like that. "So... So you're too scared to attack me, aren't you? I understand. The first time I saw my reflection, even I was frightened by how BIG my reflection was." Jasper smirked, secretly glad to be the one taking hold of a good pun when the moment arose for once.

Amethyst looked more amused than anything at the reply. "Dude, you're unbelievable."

"Very true", Jasper said seriously.

"That wasn't a complement", the Amethyst sniggered, unable to keep a straight face at Jasper's eternally disbelieving expression.

Jasper observed the little Amethyst for some seconds. Her eyes were bright and it occured to Jasper that she was actually enjoying herself. And oddly enough, Jasper didn't really mind it anymore. The twerp's presence, albeit surprising, did not bother her much at all. After all those months she was forced to spend time with the most depressing gem she had ever met, it was nice to talk to someone as lighthearted as this Amethyst. Even if she was just a defective gem.

"You're something else, you know that?", she said and raised an eyebrow.

"Sure", the Amethyst replyed cheerfully. "Just like you, Jas."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no one in the whole universe that is just like you. You're one of kind."

"Actually there are hundreds of Jaspers. They're getting mass produced since so many of them get shattered during all those battles against other planets."

"Oh man, that's sad", the Amethyst said and hugged herself.

"Why?", Jasper asked in confusion about the twerp's reaction.

"Are you going to punch me when I try to hug you?"

"Yes!", Jasper said sharply.

"Yeah, thought so. It's just... I was wondering all my life what it would be like, if I was normal like you and not defective. What it would be like, if I would live in Homeworld and do what quartzes are supposed to do. Then I met Rose, Garnet and Pearl and learned that it's not all unicorns and rainbows up there, if ya know what I mean."

"I have no idea."

"But there was always a small part left in me, that really wanted to see other quartzes aside from Rose." The Amethyst continued, ignoring Jasper's reply. "I mean, I loved Rose but she was so very different from me. Ya know, less chaotic and less wild, I guess. Well, Garnet and Pearl were awesome too, they still are, but... I dunno. They are my whole world. I didn't know much about Homeworld. They didn't really like to talk about the life they had before they came to earth."

The Amethyst paused for a brief moment in which she seemed to be very interested in a little sea shell, which was lying between her and Jasper. Shadowed by the Amethyst' long hair, that was covering her face, Jasper coudn't see the little runt's expression. She had absolutly no clue why this gem was telling her all this. Why would she talk to an enemy like that in the first place?

"Well, and then came Peridot to us.", The Amethyst continued and Jasper noticed, that the twerp's voice was shaking a little.

"She _came_ to you?", Jasper interrupted her in disbelief.

"We kinda poofed her and she locked herself in Steven's bathroom before she agreed on helping us to defeat the cluster", the Amethyst corrected herself. "Well, in the end it was just Steven and Peridot who saved the earth, since we were busy fighting you and Lapis, but aaaanywaaaay, as I was saying, Peridot came into our lifes and when she told me what a normal Amethyst is supposed to look like and I realised just how... how wrong I am..." The Amethyst made another brief pause. "Everything was coming back to me. All this hate that I'm feeling towards my whole existence. The others told me how bad the kindergartens on earth are. That the gems growing in there had sucked all the energy off the ground around them. That I did that too. My whole being is just so... Wrong... I don't blame Garnet and Pearl for what they said about quartzes and kindergartens in gerneral, nor do I blame Peridot for reminding me of what I am meant to be, It's just... I dunno..."

The Amethyst looked at Jasper as though she was expecting some words of comfort. But Jasper was completly lost at this point. She couldn't recall anybody talking to her like that. Except for Rose … maybe but that was so long ago...

"You and I, we were both made to destroy worlds, aren't we?"

Jasper was so lost in thought, that it took her a few seconds to realize, that she was asked a question."We were made to conquer other planets."

"That's the same. We were meant to be war machines. Nothing more and nothing less... Jasper, you present everything I was supposed to be. It's like looking into a mirror of what could have been. And the way you speak about Jaspers, the way you think about how they treat you and all the other gems, the way you act... It makes me so sad, it almost hurts... Please try to understand me. You're not a Jasper. You're Jasper. Just Jasper. The one and only. Here on earth you can make your own decisions. Live by your own rules. Be free."

Jasper was stunned. Really, though, it wasn't entirely – or really, at all – untrue, the more she replaced the words in her head. Hasn't she already started to make her own decisions right after they had arrived on earth? By abandoning the Peridot's mission to check on the cluster thing? Didn't she rejected Homeworld's rules by choosing to fuse with the Lazuli?

Still, the broken pieces of her ego persisted in making a comeback; "How do you know?", she responded with as much arrogance as she could muster.

Amethyst opened her mouth for a reply, as they heard a sharp voice behind them.

"Amethyst! Take cover!" Jasper froze when she heard the Pearl's shrill voice. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Pearl and Garnet arrived at the scene.

Pearl was already moving, faster than the speed of thought. In a flash, the sphere was in her hand. Air, space, angles, speed... and pain.

It took Jasper a moment to realize what had happened, and the truth came to her on a sudden drumbeat of terror. Slowly she looked down to the sphere in her chest. She felt how her body began to flicker and to glitch. How could she be so stupid? The Amethyst was a trap. It coudn't be more obvious!

"Uoy deyl ot em!", Jasper said, practically spitting the words, as though they were full of poison. "I wewk-"

But before she could finish her sentence, everything went dark around her.


	3. The Kindergarten Kid

**Jasper**

"Jeez, it's worse than I thought." Amethyst let out a long sigh, took another step forward and to Jasper's surprise, dared to sit down right in front of her. "Okay, look", she said and raked a hand through her hair. "You guys think you're supposed to keep your head down and always obey the rules. But why don't ya just try to follow your own path here on earth? It's pretty cool. Trust me! There is sooooo much you could do! Oh, I know! You could totally become my wrestling partner! And we call you... Um... The orange tigress! Yes! How does that sound?!"

The Amethyst was smiling hugely and clapped Jasper so hard on the arm that she was seriously considering to summon her weapon again. Instead she just stared at her, eyes flashing, halfway between being impressed and annoyed of this odd behavior. The Amethyst however ignored her death stare.

"Pretty awesome, right?!" she said, still grinning. "And Steven can think of a good background story for ya!"

Jasper remained silent, not sure if she understood what the tiny twerp was babbling about.

"I know you Homeworld peeps don't know it any better, but one of the reasons, we love earth so much, is, because here we can be whoever we wanna be. You don't have to be a warrior just because you were made to be one. Here you can do whatever you wanna do. You're free. Don't you see how great that is?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Jasper paused long enough to glare at her. The words the Amethyst had said, left a cold sliver of rain down Jasper's spine. "When I abandon what I am meant to be, what my Diamond wants me to be, then nothing will be left of me! There would be no meaning in my existence anymore!"

Jasper tried to get up on her feet again but the pain was simply too much and she felt how her body began to glitch for a second or two. Ignoring the growing fear, she sat down and stared furiously at the Amethyst.

"Jasper! C'mon! Can't you see how messed up Homeworld is?!"

"I AM NOT A TRAITOR!", Jasper shouted.

"You just don't get it!", Amethyst yelled back frustrated. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?! Don't you see? You can't go back to Homeworld. They would shatter you! They already sent some gems to retrieve you. Luckily they were pretty dumb and we tricked them to look for you on Neptune."

"W- what did you just say?" Jasper felt a desperate panic clawing it's way up her chest. Yellow Diamond wanted her to be shattered?

"Pshaw", Amethyst said and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about a thing. You're safe with us. We've got your back."

Feeling completly empty inside, Jasper took a deep breath and avoided the Amethyst' gaze. She wouldn't think about that now. She would find a way to regain her honor. She would survive. Like she always did. She wouldn't allow herself to get distracted by emotions...

"If you don't intend to fight me then go away! Leave me alone!" Jasper snapped.

"Don't feel like it", the Amethyst replyed and Jasper heard the challenge in her voice.

"Then why do you continue to annoy me?"

"It's not my fault you're so grumpy."

"Actually, it is", Jasper said sharply.

"If you would just listen to me for a sec... Man, Steven is really better at these things..."

"You mean Rose?"

"Wha'?" Amethyst gave her a startled look. "No, he's Steven, her son."

"What's a son?", she asked in confusion and crossed her arms.

"Ha, now you sound just like Peri", the Amethyst giggled.

"I do not sound like that annoying Gemling!"

"Whatever. Rose gave birth to Steven by loving a male human- but don't ask me for details! Steven does have her gem but he is his own being. Half human, half gem. Rose gave up her existence to create him."

Jasper's mind had gone blanc with shock. It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink. "Why,- why would she do something like that?! How is this even possible?"

"Love", the Amethyst replyed simply and shrugged.

"So... Rose is no more?"

"I dunno. Guess not. But who knows? Steven does have her gem and her weapon after all. Sometimes he reminds me of her."

There were several long moments of silence, in which Jasper's mind painted an image of Rose, surrounded by several different gems, who were listening to her songs. Jasper felt drained and strangely empty at this memory... She really hated singing...

"I really hoped to see her again... I guess... I will miss her", Jasper murmured absentmindedly, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't intended for that to slip out, and wasn't sure why it had been on her mind in the first place.

"I miss her too", the Amethyst admitted, giving Jasper a surprised but gentle smile.

Pushing the distracting thought aside, Jasper changed the subject, embarrassed about loosing control of her emotions like that. "So... So you're too scared to attack me, aren't you? I understand. The first time I saw my reflection, even I was frightened by how BIG my reflection was." Jasper smirked, secretly glad to be the one taking hold of a good pun when the moment arose for once.

Amethyst looked more amused than anything at the reply. "Dude, you're unbelievable."

"Very true", Jasper said seriously.

"That wasn't a complement", the Amethyst sniggered, unable to keep a straight face at Jasper's eternally disbelieving expression.

Jasper observed the little Amethyst for some seconds. Her eyes were bright and it occured to Jasper that she was actually enjoying herself. And oddly enough, Jasper didn't really mind it anymore. The twerp's presence, albeit surprising, did not bother her much at all. After all those months she was forced to spend time with the most depressing gem she had ever met, it was nice to talk to someone as lighthearted as this Amethyst. Even if she was just a defective gem.

"You're something else, you know that?", she said and raised an eyebrow.

"Sure", the Amethyst replyed cheerfully. "Just like you, Jas."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no one in the whole universe that is just like you. You're one of kind."

"Actually there are hundreds of Jaspers. They're getting mass produced since so many of them get shattered during all those battles against other planets."

"Oh man, that's sad", the Amethyst said and hugged herself.

"Why?", Jasper asked in confusion about the twerp's reaction.

"Are you going to punch me when I try to hug you?"

"Yes!", Jasper said sharply.

"Yeah, thought so. It's just... I was wondering all my life what it would be like if I was normal like you and not defective. What it would be like if I would live in Homeworld and do what Quarzes are supposed to do. Then I met Rose, Garnet and Pearl and learned that it's not all unicorns and rainbows up there, if ya know what I mean."

"I have no idea."

"But there was always a small part left in me, that really wanted to see other Quartzes aside from Rose." The Amethyst continued, ignoring Jasper's reply. "I mean, I loved Rose but she was so very different from me. Ya know, less chaotic and less wild, I guess. Well, Garnet and Pearl were awesome too, they still are, but... I dunno. They are my whole world. I didn't know much about Homeworld. They didn't really like to talk about the life they had before they came to earth."

The Amethyst paused for a brief moment in which she seemed to be very interested in a little sea shell, which was lying between her and Jasper. Shadowed by the Amethyst' long hair, that was covering her face, Jasper coudn't see the little runts expression. She had absolutly no clue why this gem was telling her all this. Why would she talk to an enemy like that in the first place?

"Well, and then came Peridot to us.", The Amethyst contuined and Jasper noticed that the twerp's voice was shaking a little.

"She _came_ to you?", Jasper interrupted her in disbelief.

"We kinda poofed her and she locked herself in Steven's bathroom before she agreed on helping us to defeat the cluster", the Amethyst corrected herself. "Well, in the end it was just Steven and Peridot who saved the earth, since we were busy fighting you and Lapis, but aaaanywaaaay, as I was saying, Peridot came into our lifes and when she told me what a normal Amethyst is supposed to look like and I realised just how... how wrong I am..." The Amethyst made another brief pause. "Everything was coming back to me. All this hate that I'm feeling towards my whole existence. The others told me how bad the kindergartens on earth are. That the gems growing in there had sucked all the energy off the ground around them. That I did that too. My whole being is just so... Wrong... I don't blame Garnet and Pearl for what they said about Quartzes and kindergartens in gerneral, nor do I blame Peridot for reminding me of what I am meant to be, It's just... I dunno..."

The Amethyst looked at Jasper as though she was expecting some words of comfort. But Jasper was completly lost at this point. She couldn't recall anybody talking to her like that. Except for Rose maybe but that was so long ago...

"You and I, we were both made to destroy worlds, aren't we?"

Jasper was so lost in thought, that it took her a few seconds to realize, that she was asked a question."We were made to conquer other planets."

"That's the same. We were meant to be war machines. Nothing more and nothing less... Jasper, you present everything I was meant to be. It's like looking into a mirror of what could have been. And the way you speak about Jaspers, the way you think about how they treat you and all the other gems, the way you act... It makes me so sad, it almost hurts... Please try to understand me. You're not a Jasper. You're Jasper. Just Jasper. The one and only. Here on earth you can make your own decisions. Live by your own rules. Be free."

Jasper was stunned. Really, though, it wasn't entirely – or really, at all – untrue, the more she replaced the words in her head. Hasn't she already started to make her own decisions right after they had arrived on earth? By abandoning the Peridot's mission to check on this cluster thing? Didn't she rejected Homeworld's rules by choosing to fuse with the Lazuli?

Still, the broken pieces of her ego persisted in making a comeback; "How do you know?", She responded with as much arrogance as she could muster.

Amethyst opened her mouth for a reply, as they heard a sharp voice behind them.

"Amethyst! Take cover!" Jasper froze when she heard the Pearl's shrill voice. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Pearl and Garnet arrived to the scene.

Pearl was already moving, faster than the speed of thought. In a flash, the sphere was in her hand. Air, space, angles, speed... and pain.

It took Jasper a moment to realize what had happened, and the truth came to her on a sudden drumbeat of terror. Slowly she looked down to the sphere in her chest. She felt how her body began to flicker and to glitch. How could she be so stupid? The Amethyst was a trap. It coudn't be more obvious!

"Uoy deyl ot em!", Jasper said, practically spitting the words, as though they were full of poison. "I wewk-"

But before she could finish her sentence, everything went dark around her.


	4. In too deep

**Amethyst**

"What were you thinking?!" Pearl shouted. She stared at Amethyst, shock written plainly on her face. "What if she had attacked you?!"

Amethyst irgnored her friend and carefully picked up Jasper's broken gem from the ground. She felt a flare-up of rage. "Jasper was in no condition to fight", she growled back at Pearl. "Here, look at her!" She showed Pearl and Garnet the broken gem. "Didn't you see that?!"

"Oh, I... No, I didn't... I couldn't see that. I didn't see her face...", muttered Pearl, putting a hand to her mouth to keep herself from gasping and Amethyst was surprised at the look of honest regret on Pearl's face.

"Amethyst, give her to me", said Garnet in her usual calm voice. "I will put her in a bubble. She will be safe in the temple."

"No!", Amethyst barked and furiously turned towards her. "No, we won't just lock her away! She was finally warming up a little and now, thanks to you two, she thinks that I was lying to her!"

"Are you implying that you actually want to let her free?", Pearl asked in disbelief. "She is not like Peridot. We can't just put her on a leash. She is far too strong to control and I won't allow you to let her anywhere near Steven. Jasper is just too dangerous."

"So what?!" Amethyst replied angrily. "You gave Peridot a chance and she did way worse stuff to us than Jasper. And what about Lapis?! She almost wiped out the whole planet by stealing the ocean. She tried to drown Steven and Connie and she broke Greg's leg. Not to mention that she gave away where to find us, plus she still hates us. Lapis is stronger than all of us together and yet you're giving her a chance but not Jasper?! That's not fair!"

Pearl's lips thinned to a skeptical frown. "This may be, but Lapis likes Steven. She won't attack us because of him. Jasper however-" She gave Jasper's gem a dismissive look. "She served thousands of years under Yellow Diamond. She hates all of us. You can't just talk to her for a while and hope that she changes her mind all of a sudden. Quartzes are made to be loyal and to destroy everything that stands in their Diamond's way. She would probably rather die than becoming a traitor to Homeworld."

"But, she can be saved. She can be redeemed!"

"No. Jasper would do anything for her Homeworld. She's in too deep", argued Pearl and crossed her arms.

"But she is lost! She will eventually see that there is nowhere else that she can go. Just imagine how great it would be to have someone as powerful as her on our team."

There was a brief pause and Pearl exchanged a quick look with Garnet, before Garnet finally broke the silence. "Amethyst, please give Jasper to me. We have to bubble her. If she comes back now, she will only risk to be shatterd completly or to become corrupted."

Amethyst froze, then inched forward, around her two friends and shape shifted into a giant hawk.  
"We won't lock her away!", she squacked, flying high above them. "I'll bring her to Steven. He can heal her!"

"Don't you dare-", shriecked Pearl, but Amethyst was already too far away to hear the rest of her words. Not that she would have cared anyway.

 **Peridot**

"I'm telling you, I'm completly and one hundred procent innocent!" Peridot was gesturing wildly as she talked. "And yet she flooded almost half of the barn! Again!"

"Are you sure you didn't say something that might have offended Lapis somehow?", Steven asked while he was preparing a huge sandwich with extra much cheese.

"No! As if I would ever do something like that. You know me, I'm the most sensitive person you could meet", she burst out and put a hand on her chest. "I was really trying to make her feel at home. I even let her watch my Camp Pining hearts collection!"

"Did she like the series?", he asked and walked alongside with Peridot to the sofa.

"I can't believe I'm saying that", Peridot took a deep breath. "She said she hates it! Can you believe that? And she only watched one episode. One episode! That's all! How can someone already decide not to like a series after watching only one episode?!"

"Hey, wanna try? It's really good", Steven asked and offered her the sandwich.

"Now is not the time to eat! We have a serious issue here!", Peridot said frustrated. She sat down on the sofa next to Steven, pouting her cheeks and crossing her arms. She was annoyed that Steven had cut her off in the middle of her dramatic monologue, right when she was getting to the good part. "She's so mean and I'm trying so hard to be nice to her."

"I know", Steven said and gave her a warm smile. "Just give her a little bit more time. Lapis is still mad about the whole Malachite situation and about Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst. Because, you know..."

"But that's not my fault! Why is she letting her anger out on me? I thought things would get easier after the Rubies left but nope. She's still gloomy all the time and gets angry at nothing."

Steven looked at her for several seconds. His concerned look softend and he put the sandwich on the table. "Just give her some time. Things will work out eventually", he said gently and gave Peridot's hand a little squeeze.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one, who has to live with her", she mumbled miserably. She secretly wished there would be a room just for her alone in the tempel. She was one of them, so why couldn't she get her own room?

 _'Oh well, I guess the barn is still better than Steven's bathroom',_ she thought and tried hard not to show Steven how upset she really was.

Steven released her hand and took his sandwish. "Nobody can be mad for long at the most adorable green gem in the universe", he said with a huge grin on his face and took a big bite out of his sandwich. "You'll see."

Peridot was halfway between angry and flattered by being called adorable. She wanted to be cool, not adorable, just like Amethyst. But then again, she surely enjoyed being praised by Steven.

 **Steven**

"Nyehehehehe."

Steven peeked at Peridot out of the corner of his eye. His smile grew even bigger when he saw, that she looked rather flattered and was giggling behind her hand. He was really proud of her. She had grown so much over the last few weeks and had proven so many times that she cared about him, the Crystal Gems and the earth, that he hardly could believe, that she was once their enemy.

Steven took another bite and let his eyes wander through the living room. Things could have ended a lot different, if he hadn't released Peridot out of the bubble, in which Garnet had imprisoned her. If it wasn't for Peridot, the earth would be destroyed by now.

He stuffed the last bit of his sandwich in his mouth and embraced Peridot in a big hug. Peridot made a small, squeaky noise. "Promise that you will always be one of us, that you'll never leave."

"S- sure", Peridot muttered in confusion. "You guys are all I have. You're my everything."

Steven released her so he could look at her. "N'awww, Peridot, you're soooo-"

"Gaah! Stop it Steven! Let's... Let's just talk about something else."

"'kay", he sniffed. "Hey, what do you think of the Camp Pining Heart's finale of season seven? I really enjoyed the part where Percy-"

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah! Spoilers!", Peridot interrupted him. "I haven't seen it yet!"

"Oh, sorry", he said apologetically. "Um, wanna see my Mini Golf video game then? I know you gonna love it! And guess what? There will be a new generation coming out this fall. It's called Mini Golf Day And Night. Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so", Peridot said with a curious look on her face.

"Alright! Let me just-", he started, but was interupted by a loud _bang_ as the door sprang wide open.

"Steven! Spit. Now!", Amethyst demanded and didn't care to close the door while she was making her way to him.

"Why?! What happend?!" Steven sprang up and ran towards Amethyst. Panic ran through his mind like wild fire. Were Garnet and Pearl okay? Did they get hurt?

Amethyst came to a halt in front of him and held out a broken gem in her hand. "Jasper happend", she said. "You have to heal her! Hurry!"

"Jasper?!" Steven flinched a little, remembering Jasper's headbutt all too well. A chill spread over Steven's body, starting in his chest and reaching to the roots of his hair. But then he thought of Jasper's unconscious body, falling into a deep crack. Who knows what she's been through since then...

He felt guilty for not instantly helping Jasper and he reached out for the gem. "She'll be fine in no time. I'll heal her."

But before Amethyst could give Jasper to him, a loud "DON'T YOU DARE!" filled the air.

Pearl was springing forwards, grabbing Amethyst's shoulders and shook them roughly. "I said, don't bring her anywhere near Steven!", Pearl said in a voice strangled with fury.

Amethyst opened her mouth to protest, but Pearl cut her off. "You do not put Steven in danger just because you'd like to prove that Quartzes aren't just impulsive brutes!"

"Excuse me?!", Amethyst growled furiously. She freed herself from Pearl's grip and balled her fists at her side. "And what about Rose, Steven and me?! We are Quartzes too, you know."

Pearl blushed for a second but quickly regained her composure and was glaring at Amethyst in her usual disapproving way.

"Rose was a huge exception and you know that!" She blurted out. Her voice was thin and high. "As for you and Steven, well, both of you never were on Homworld, so of course you two are different. Plus, Steven is half human and you are-", she paused for a brief moment, then she added with a superior sounding sniff. "You are often very impulsive. The difference between you and Jasper is, that you don't intend to beat us."

"Oh yeah?", Amethyst said grimly and made a step towards Pearl. "Are ya sure about that?"

Garnet stepped between them and crossed her arms. "That's enough. Stop it. Both of you. We have to decide what to do with Jasper."

Everyone fell silent and Peridot let out a long sigh. "Aren't you guys the heroes? I mean, isn't saving people kinda your thing?"

Everyone glanced at Peridot. The little gem spread her hands as if to say, _well, duh_! "Jasper is difficult, sure, but she's not as aggressive as you might think, Pearl", Peridot continued. "She's actually a defensive gem and not offensive. Why do you think she has a helmet as a weapon and not a cannon or something of that sort." She turned to Steven. "The headbutt she gave you must have hurt quite a lot, considering her bullhead, but she decided to do it without her weapon. Remember? She doesn't enjoy unnecessary harm." She shrugged before she continued. "It's your decision whether you help her or not. But having her on the team could be of great use. Escpecially when the Rubies or other Homeworld gems decide to come back to earth."

Steven nodded. "I'll help her."

"Steven no!", Pearl snapped.

"Steven yes!", Amethyst said grimly and glared at Pearl. "What the heck is it with you and Jasper? I'm beginning to believe that you let her fall into the cracks on purpose."

"It was an accident! I would never do somthing like that! I tried to catch her!"

"You call that trying?!"

"I tried to safe her but I still don't want her anywhere near Steven! Do you have any idea against how many Jaspers I fought during the war?! They're brutal and extremly dangerous! You can't compare them to Lapis Lazulis or to Peridot here." She pointed at Peridot, who gave her a suspicious look. "Peridot was no threat without her limp enhancers. That's why it didn't bother me to let her alone with Steven. Peridot can't fight and she probably doesn't even know how to summon her weapon, right Peridot?"

"Mhm...", Peridot mumbled, crossing her arms and avoiding Pearls eyes.

"There you have it!", Pearl said. "Peridot is weak and-"

"Peridot can hear you loud and clear, you double mega clod!", Peridot shouted and stomped to the warp pad but then she suddenly came to a halt, probably remembering that Lapis was still angry at her. She turned around and pouted her cheeks. "I need my own room!", she shouted and ran into Steven's bathroom, banging the door behind her.

"Oh boy...", Steven muttered.

"So what do you suggest, Amethyst? How can we possibly release Jasper, without bringing Steven in danger?", Pearl asked.

Amethyts looked at Jasper's gem. Conern written on her face.

"Well?", Pearl asked impatiently.

"I'm thinking!", Amethyst replied and gave Pearl an annoyed look.

"Don't strain yourself." Pearl replied and Amethyst hissed at her.

Garnet opened her mouth to interupt the two, when Steven quickly grabbed Jasper's gem out of Amethyst hand.

"Don't do that!" Pearl said alarmed, but Steven had already put the gem to his mouth and gave it a little kiss.

Suddenly it was completly silent as everyone was watching Jasper's gem in Steven's hand. For a moment nothing happened and Steven was about to panic, thinking that his healing power didn't work or that Jasper's gem was too broken to be fixed or-

He stopped when the gem began to glow. Relief filled his chest and a warm feeling flew through his body. The crack closed itself, making the gem whole again. They waited but then the glowing faded. Jasper didn't come back.

Steven's insides lurched painfully as he looked up at his caretakers and saw their worried faces. "What does that mean?", he asked nervously. "Why isn't she coming back?"

The gems looked at each other for a moment, concern written on their faces, and then looked back at him.

"Steven", Garnet began in a gentle voice. "Jasper was constantly standing under a great amount of pressure and was fighting since the moment she arrived on earth. Even a gem, who was made for fighting, can't take this sort of strain forever."

"So? Will she be alright?", he asked fearfully. "You're not saying that she is never coming back or,- or that she is coming back as a corrupted gem, right?!"

Before Garnet could answer, Steven felt that someone was squeezing his free hand. "Don't be silly, we're talking about Jasper." Peridot had come back and grinned at him. "Just... just give her a little time. She'll be back in no time. Right guys?" She looked at Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst. Amethyst looked angry and frustrated, Garnet smiled slightly back at Peridot and Pearl had a look of deep regret on her face.

"Right", Garnet said smoothly.

"So... what should we do?" Pearl asked and turned instinctively to Garnet.

"Pearl, I would like you to keep an eye on Jasper", Garnet said, after a pause.

It took Pearl several tries before she could find her voice. " _ME?!_ " She laughed nervously. "You're making a joke, right?"

"Nope."

"Why should Pearl watch over her?!" Amethyst yelled. "She will only loose her or _accidently_ shatter her."

"I would not!", Pearl snapped back, then turned back to Garnet. "But seriously though, I'm the one, who poofed her, she won't be too happy to see me again and I don't know, if I can stop her if she's trying to fight again."

"You're the right person for this task." Garnet said simply. "You defeated Sugilite and you will be able to keep Jasper in line. I believe in you."

Pearl's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Do not summon your spear unless it is absolutly necessary. As Peridot said, Jasper is mostly a defensive gem, meaning that she will see every little sign of offensive actions of you as a threat and therefore a reason to attack."

"Well, if you really think that this will work... Alright then."

"That's a terrible idea", Amethyst growled.

Steven took Pearl's hand and carefully placed Jasper's gem in it. "I trust you, Pearl. You're a great teacher. I know you can help Jasper to understand earth a little better."

"Oh Steven... I just hope you're right."


	5. Lost Jasper

**Pearl**

Today the temple was blissfully quiet. Steven was at the barn with Peridot and Lapis Lazuli. Garnet was on a mission and Amethyst was helping Greg at the car wash, at least that's what Amethyst had said.

Pearl however had decided to stay at the temple. For the last week she was constantly trying to avoid the temple, since she was afraid that Jasper could return and smash everything and everyone around her. But Jasper still remained in her gem. She had talked to Garnet about this and they both were unsure, if Jasper would come back at all. As a quartz it shouldn't have taken her longer then a day or two to regain her energy. Then again, Jasper certainly had been through a lot since she arrived on earth.

Pearl couldn't stand Jaspers. Not after the war and after she'd seen what those gems were capable of. Yet she didn't wished for Jasper to become corrupted. No gem should suffer that much. And it was her fault even though she knew that it wasn't. It was an accident, wasn't it? She would never destroy another gem on purpose. Even when this gem happens to be a Jasper.

Pearl looked out of the window and at the beach. _'It was just an accident.' S_ he assured herself. But what if Jasper would really come back as a corrupted gem? She didn't want to see Steven's face when he would realise that his healing power didn't work on Jasper. And then there was Amethyst... She made up with her friend but she knew that Amethyst was still being angry at her for poofing Jasper.

Pearl steadied herself. Maybe cleaning the house would distract her a little. Yes! That was a great idea! She would start with-

 _BAM_

Pearl flinched, turned around and saw none other than Jasper, standing in the kitchen where she had left her gem in a bowl, which was now lying on the ground. A mix of relief and fear ran through Pearl's body. The huge quartz turned to her with a mischievous look in her eyes.

 **Jasper**

"You again!", Jasper growled, when she spotted the Pearl.

Jasper glanced around the room surreptitiously, searching for the rest of the Crystal Gems but the Pearl seemed to be alone.

Where was she anyway? Was this the base of the Crystal Gems? But why would they bring her to this odd place? And why was she still alive?

"Um, hello Jasper. It's..." The Pearl cleared her throat. "It nice to see you again."

Jasper turned her eyes back to the Pearl. "You're the one, who dared to poof me!"

"Y- yes, well... I can asure you, it was just an accident. You see-"

"I've been under too much stress lately", Jasper interrupted in a casual tone and made a step towards her. "Poofing you should be a good remedy."

She saw the Pearl's eyes widened with fear and with each of Jasper's steps towards her, the Pearl took a step backwards. Jasper smirked at this reaction. That was the way it was supposed to be. Pearls should fear her not attack and talk to her, as if they were equals. What would they think back on Homeworld if they would find out that a Pearl had poofed her?! No, she couldn't let that happen! She would just poof every last one of the Crystal Gems and no one would ever find out about this.

"You just came back. I really think you should spare your strength and get some rest", the Pearl said, seemingly trying to sound polite.

"Oh, don't you worry about my strength. I have plenty."

"Jasper, please, this is rediculous. There is no need to fight. See?" She waved her hands before her. "I don't even summon my weapon. So, there is no reason for you to attack me."

"Ha! Are you being serious?", Jasper asked in disbelief. "You poofed me. There you have a reason." She gave the smaller gem a devious grin. "Revenge!"

"Alright then", Pearl said and sighed. "What can I do so that you listen to what I have to say?!"

Jasper paused for a second and smirked. "Proof me wrong. Show me, that Pearls aren't just fancy pets that can't do anything but serving their masters."

Pearl's face fell grim. "Fine." She summoned her weapon. "If this is the only way you understand, then so be it!"

Before Pearl's spear could connect with her chest, Jasper spin dashed forward, lifted a hand almost casually and smacked Pearl's throwing arm away as if it were a fly buzzing around her face. Pearl spun nearly a half circle, roaring with pain and fell to the ground. But she stood up almost immidiantly and came at Jasper again. Jasper let out a long sigh. She didn't even bother to summon her own weapon. She wouldn't need it for this fight. Jasper brought her fist through the air slowly, indifferently, as if she intended Pearl to inspect it for her. Crack. Her fist connected with Pearl's belly like a thunderbolt. Pearl flew backward, crashing though the table and leaving it in splinters.

"Do you have enough? A Pearl can never beat a Jasper. Do you realize that now? Give up already!"

"No! I'm not going to give up! I need to know where I stand... So I will fight, until I can't fight anymore!"

Jasper couldn't help but be a little impressed by this Pearl. She had a strong spirit and Jasper could respect that. Was it this planet that changed all those gems? Rose, Lapis, the fusion, the Amethyst, the Peridot and this Pearl here? She was very different from all the Pearls she had met on Homeworld...

"Alright then", Jasper said grinning. "Show me what you got."

Pearl sprang up and sprinted towards her. She was light on her feet, what made her very fast. Jasper rushed in, throwing strike after strike. But now Pearl was able to dodge each one expertly and was trying to deliver a few counters with her spear here and there, though Jasper was still too fast to get actually hit by the Pearl. Jasper saw a new spear coming at her chest and slipped into a defensive stance. She deftly swatted away the Pearl's strike. But then, at the corner of her eyes she saw, that the Pearl was throwing a second spear right at her belly, while she was still being busy with the first spear. At the last second Jasper managed it to avoid the strike, but fell against the wall behind her, causing the big picture of Rose to fall down.

Jasper took the picture and held it before her. Rose looked just like she did thousands of years ago. Still wearing this silly dress...

"Don't you dare-", came the panting voice of the Pearl behind her. Jasper blinked, noticing that her thoughts had drifted away but the Pearl had brought her back to reality. Jasper turned around to see the Pearl, who was leaning on her spear, heavily breathing. But even so she looked as if she could hardly stand, she stared right at Jasper, showing no fear at all. "I won't allow you to destroy the painting!" The Pearl said in a hard voice.

"Why... What is it with you? With all of you? Why are you so different from what you are supposed to be?", Jasper asked and looked confused at the fearless Pearl.

For some odd reason, the Pearl began to smile and let her weapon disappear.

"Why are you smiling?" Jasper asked.

"Because you are willing to learn", the Pearl said in a gentle voice.

"Willing to learn?" Jasper replied. "Now what is that supposed to mean? As if a Pearl could teach a Jasper anything. I just beat you, didn't I?"

"Jasper, you don't have to fight us. Being a warrior for Homeworld is a choice, not your destiny."

"That choice was made for me a long time ago."

"Stop it alreay! I can't hear this Homeworld nonsense anymore!"

"Who do you think you're talking to here? A pathetic and lost Pearl like you should know her place!" Jasper barked angrily.

"I am not lost. You're the one who's lost and we've found you!", Pearl said.

Jasper gave a bitter laugh. "You are beneath me. With a behavior like that, you wouldn't last five minutes back on Homeworld."

"But we're not on Homeworld. We're on earth. Be a little grateful, that we didn't just put you in a bubble."

"Oh, I am sooo sorry", Jasper said. "I am so thankful for you guys to wreck Yellow Diamond's ship, to turn Lapis and Peridot in to traitors, to let me stay for months on end in a fusion with Lapis, to let me rot for who knows how long on this garbage planet, and thank you Pearl, thank you for poofing me, while my gem was cracked." As Jasper said this, she remembered that she should actually feel weak and vulnerable right now. But her body felt perfectly fine.

She put the painting with one hand on the ground, but was still holding it and carefully touched with the other hand her gem. "I'm healed...", she muttered and glanced at the Pearl in confusion. "Why?"

The Pearl made a long sigh. "Steven, he healed you", she replied in a tired voice. "He believes in you and that is why we will also believe in you."

Jasper remained silent. Not knowing what to answer or what to do. If it was true that Yellow Diamond wanted to see her shattered, then there was really no place she could go. But staying here with these traitors? Out of the question. The only reason she could think of on why this quartz boy had healed her, was because he probably thought she could be useful in a battle against Homeworld. But she would never betray Yellow Diamond, even if Yellow Diamond didn't trust her anymore. She just had to find a way to reagain her honor so she would be allowed to return to Homeworld.

As if the Pearl had read her mind she said: "Jasper, you can't just go by somebody else's rules. If you let yourself be controlled like that, you'll just become a puppet that can't make decisions on it's own. You have to live by your own rules."

"I don't understand..."

"There was a time when I was just like you, Jasper. We were taught that Homeworld was the greatest civilization in the universe and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The creatures of the world are terrified by Homeworld! They don't see our greatness – they hate us! And we deserve it."

Jasper frowned and her brows narrowed but then she sighed, simply out of exhaustion. She didn't understand the earth. She didn't understand the Crystal Gems. She didn't know anymore what she should do. She was just so exhausted but she saw this Pearl like no other Pearl she had ever seen before. This Pearl was actually pretty good in battle and might actually be able to defeat some quartzes that made the mistake to underestimate her and Jasper could respect that. Even though her pride would never allow her to openly admit that. "I suppose, I owe you gems one, for not shattering me. So..." Jasper took the painting with both hands and hung it back on it's former place over the door. "So I won't destroy your precious little painting."

She turned back at the Pearl, who, for some reason, had tears in her eyes, which made Jasper extremly uncomfortable. On Homeworld this behavior would have been punished, at least for quartzes, so Jasper wasn't really custom to those open emotions and she didn't have any clue how to handle it.

"Can you not do that?", Jasper said and tried to avoid the Pearl's watery eyes.

"Do what?" Pearl sniffed.

"Crying. It's extremly irritating."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just... I'm just thankful that you don't destroy the painting. It means a lot to me... I learned so much from Rose. She taught me how to fight, even though I'm just a Pearl. She gave me so much..."

"Well, uh-" _'This is so stupid',_ Jasper thought. "You know, you're not so bad... for a Pearl."

"Why, thank you. Coming from you, I take that as a compliment", said Pearl and smiled.

"Ugh, take it as you want. We're done here. I'm leaving." Jasper turned around and headed for the warp pad she had spotted earlier. But the Pearl ran before her and blocked the way.

"Step aside, filth!"

"And where do you wish to go to?"

"That's none of your buisness! Step aside."

"I'm serious. You can't return to Homeworld. Yellow Diamond wants to see you shattered, besides, all the warp pads back to Homeworld are destroyed anyway. So where would you like to go?"

Jasper hesitated. She had absolutly no idea where to go. Maybe she should stick around for a little longer. If she could poof the Crystal Gems one by one and present their gems to Yellow Diamond, maybe then she would be forgiven for her failure. And this way, maybe she would finally get her revenge on Lapis as well, since she would probably meet her again. Sooner or later... A strange feeling overcame Jasper all of a sudden. Was it fear? She touched her wrist, remembering all those months trapped inside this awefull fusion... So much darkness...

"Jasper?... Jasper, we're here for you. We protect eachother. You don't have to be alone anymore."

The Pearl's voice brought Jasper back to reality. Jasper's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, as she noticed that the Pearl had laid her hand on Jasper's arm. The Pearl's touch was so soft and her own mind had been so distant, remembering Malachite, that she hadn't noticed the Pearl's movement. She did not know why, but her fear grew even bigger and she slapped the Pearl's hand off her arm.

"Don't touch me! Nobody touches me!", she yelled in panic and made a step backwards, before she realised just how pathetic she must look right now and she quickly steadied herself again.

She crossed her arms and avoided the Pearl's worried look. "As if I would need protection from the likes of you! Besides, you only want me to join your little team because I can be useful to you", she muttered.

"No. It's not like that", Pearl said and then slowly started to grin. "I mean, it's sure handy to have a nice tall gem around to reach the high places." She waited, as if she was expecting Jasper to laugh.

"Yeah", Jasper said after a while of awkward silence. "I'm good at being tall" ' _Sure. My only use is being tall. It can't be the fact, that I'm way stronger than all of you... except for Lapis maybe, when she's around water. Was the Pearl trying to be funny?'_

Jasper looked at the Pearl, who had a stupidly big grin on her face. But after a while the grin faded.

"I know you don't see us as equals", Pearl said softly, "I know that back on Homeworld I'm nothing special at all. I would be just someone else's servant and considered as weak and-"

"I know that things are different here on earth", Jasper interrupted her and gave the Pearl an annoyed look. "Believe it or not, but I've noticed that. However, what you're saying about yourself is wrong. You actually couldn't be more _special_ , if you wanna call it that way. But that's the problem, isn't it? We're not supposed to be special. I'm supposed to act like a Jasper and you're supposed to act like a Pearl, yet you're fighting like a true warrior." Jasper paused for a little while. "This place is so confusing..." She thought of Lapis. "Still, I can't let things beat me down. I have to take a stand against anything that would try to keep me down. I will never surrender to you traitors or anyone else."

Pearl gave her a tired chuckle. "Stop being difficult, Jasper."

"Pff!" Jasper raised an eyebrow and studied the Pearl for a moment. "I can't tell if you are just very stupid or very brave. Talking to me like that."

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Pearl said and gave her a challenging smile.

Jasper glanced back at the Pearl and without thinking about it, her lips formed a small grin as well. "Yeah... maybe I will."

The earth was such an odd place. Jasper just didn't know how to think about it anymore. But the more she talked to those Crystal Gems, the more their strange behavior started to fascinate her. Was this Pearl really trying to befriend her?

"I really don't know why Lapis Lazuli is talking so bad about you", Pearl said suddenly. "You're nicer than I thought."

 _'Moment is over. Back to being mortal enemies.'_ Jasper thought, feeling a familiar burning hate as she heard Lapis' name.

Suddenly the door slammed open and a human sprang in to the temple. Out of reflex Jasper turned around and jumped backwards to avoid the threat. Unfortunately for Pearl, Jasper accidently jumped right into her, causing the two to fall down. Jasper's heavy body landed on top of Pearl's. Jasper could hear the already exhausted smaller gem poof. _'Oops',_ she thought and took Pearl's gem in her hand before she stood up again and faced the human before her.


	6. Rainbow Colored Donut Rain

**Jasper**

Jasper glanced at the skinny human before her. He had a light brown skin color with dark brown hair. The human was holding a satchel in his hand with lots and lots of weirdly shaped papers. He looked at her with big eyes and his mouth was in awe. They both stand there for several moments until Jasper finally broke the silence.

"What do you want, human?"

"Human?", he stuttered. "Oh, yeah... Yeah, I guess I am a human." For some odd reason he began to blush. "Oh, I'm so sorry. May I introduce myself? My name is Jamie. And who might you be, my fair maiden?"

"Excuse me?" Jasper asked and raised an eyebrow at him. Were all humans as weird as this guy?

"I asked of your name, sweet hibiscus."

"I'm a gem, not a... whatever you called me. I'm a Jasper."

"Jasper! Oh that's music to my ear."

"I hate music", she grunted.

"Are you one of Steven's bigger sisters?"

"Seriously human, what are you talking about?"

"Um, hehe, I guess you are new here, aren't you?" he asked brightly.

"Well, I did spend several months in your planet's ocean, but I haven't seen much of the landscape yet..."

"I could show you around Beach City! It would be my pleasure", he said and went slightly pink.

Jasper thought a bit about this offer. If this human was planning on leading her into a trap, then surely she would be able to defeat him. He didn't seem to be strong at all. But why would a complete stranger want to give her a tour anyway? She didn't trust him. Then again, there was no one she trusted at this point, so that wasn't really something new. She might as well follow the Jamie for a little while. She had no allies on this planet and she didn't know anything about her current location. Besides, the fact that the base of the Crystal Gems was right next to the ocean, was highly dangerous because of Lapis. Maybe she could find some weapons or other stuff that might help her to get off this horrible planet.

"Fine then", Jasper said and formed a pocket in her uniform in which she put Pearl's gem. The Pearl wasn't too much harmed, so it probably would only take her a few hours until she would regenerate. That gave Jasper some time to think of what to do with her. "Show me Beach City."

"Your wish is my command", the Jamie said and stepped aside, so that Jasper could leave the house.

 _'Actually, that was a command',_ Jasper thought but remained silent. She still didn't know what to think about this human and his strange behavior. Jasper followed the Jamie in silence, her eyes constantly probing her surroundings, looking for threats. She felt distinctly awkward as they set off down Beach City together.

"So um, I hope you don't mind me asking", the Jamie began, as they walked along side the beach. "But um, well... You see... I was wondering, if, um..."

"Spit it out", Jasper growled.

"Right, um... Do you have a... boyfriend?" As he said that, his face began to blush again and he quickly stared at his feet, avoidig Jasper's eyes.

"A... what?" Jasper stared at him for several seconds with a blanc face. "What's a boyfriend?"

It seemed as if she had said something, that had made the human very happy- or very crazy. Because for some reason he started giggling uncontrollably.

Jasper silently decided not to question his odd behavior and instead asked him something else.

"What is that?" She pointed at a small building with a big metallic ring, that was lying on the ground in front of it.

"Oh, that's the Big Donut. Would you like to try some?"

"Some what?"

"Donuts of course."

Jasper was about to ask what exactly a donut was but then she thought better of it. She didn't want this human to think she was stupid.

"Oh, hey you two!" Jasper looked back at the Big Donut, where a tiny human with blonde hair was waving at them. A second, larger human with short reddish brown hair appeared beside her and was looking rather annoyed. "Could you help us?!" The girl yelled. "The big donut fell off the roof last night. Must have been the storm and it's just too heavy for us to lift it up again."

"Why can't we just call some craftsmen?", the bigger human asked in an annoyed tone.

"Because it costs a lot of money and we can do it by ourselves."

Jasper and Jamie came to a halt and Jasper noticed that the humans seemed to be rather impressed by her appearance.

"You're tall", the male human said. "Wow and look at those muscles! Hoho! It must have taken you ages to look so awesome! Guess you're training every day, heh?"

"Don't be rude", the female human answered, then she turned back to Jasper. "Hey, I'm Sadie and that's Lars." Her eyes wandered to Jasper's nose gem. "You must be one of Steven's caretakers, right? What's your name?"

"I'm a Jasper."

"A Jasper?", the Sadie replied confused. "Welcome to Beach City, Jasper. I bet you will like it here."

Jasper didn't reply and looked instead at the big metalic ring called 'donut'. "You guys really don't have the strenght to lift this thing?", she asked in disbelieve.

"Unfortunatly no", the Sadie replied. "Could you help us to put it back on the roof or do you think it's a little too heavy?"

"Too heavy?" Jasper said angrily. She took the ring and held it in one hand above her head.

"Wow, you're soooo amazing", the Jamie squeaked.

"You rock, girl!" the Sadie cheered.

"Pretty impressive", the Lars agreed.

Jasper looked confused at the humans, who all looked up at her with stars in their eyes. She couldn't deny it. She really liked it to be admired like that.

"It's nothing", she said, but couldn't resist a sheepish grin.

"We owe you one", the Sadie said. "Could you put it on the roof, so that I can fix it?"

"Yeah, sure", Jasper said. It wasn't that she had anything better to do at the moment and maybe she could use these humans to her advantage sometime in the future. Even if they were just puny little beings with no powers at all.

"Please, have these!", the Sadie insisted, once they where finished fixing the big donut. She gave Jasper several boxes, filled with smaller versions of the big donut. They were soft and had different colors.

"What am I supposed to do with them?" Jasper asked. Was this some kind of poison? Did these humans work for the Crystal Gems? She probably wouldn't die from it but it could weaken her or worse, making her completly unable to fight.

"Oh right, Steven told me that you gems don't really know that much about human stuff. Hehe, well you can eat them, if you like. They are really sweet and quite tasty."

"You first", Jasper said suspiciously. She picked one of the donuts and gave it to the Sadie.

"Oh sure, thanks", the Sadie said and ate the donut right away.

Jasper stared back at the donuts in the box. So these things weren't poisonous after all. Weird.

"Come on Jasper, there is still so much, I would like to show you", the Jamie said.

"Alright, let's continue", Jasper said, closed the box untouched and follwed him, but looked back at the Big Donut, when she heard the Sadie's voice.

"I hope we see you soon, Jasper! You're always welome at the Big Donut! And thanks again", the Sadie yelled and waved her arm for some strange reason. Both, Sadie and Lars, were smiling at her. ' _What's with these people?'_ Jasper asked herself .

"Please, allow me to carry the boxes for you", the Jamie said suddenly.

Without saying anything, Jasper put the boxes in his arms. He slightly shook but manged to find his balance again. They entered Beach City, which actually was way smaller than Jasper thought it would be. Nothing compared to Homeworld of course.

A loud and weird noise startled them. Some kind of vehicle was dashing unbridled through the road, shouting DEWY, DEWY, DEWY non stop. The vihicle damaged some buildings and was now heading towards a small group of humans.

"Are we under attack?!" Jasper asked the Jamie.

"No, I think major Dewy lost control over his car. We have to do something!"

Jasper came a thought. Maybe there were weapons inside this... car. It looked intimidating with that giant head on it's top. So there had to be some weapons, right?

She jumped on the street and right in front of the car, unintendingly shielding the small group of humans with her body.

"Jasper, no!", Jamie yelled but it was already too late.

The car crashed right into Jasper, but- nothing happend. She simply punched her fists in the metal and was now holding the car slightly in the air, so that it couldn't move forward anymore.

"So amazing...", Jamie cheered.

A man with shaky legs fell off the car. Jasper lay the vihicle at the side. The round things on it's bottom were still spinning.

"Wait, I handle that", Jamie said and put his satchel and the donut boxes onto the ground. He climbed inside the vehicle and did something with it's controll board, until the vihicle finally died off.

The shaky man had collected himself again and slowly stood up. Suddenly, Jasper felt multiply hands touching her and she quickly whirled around.

"You're a hero!", the tallest of the humans cheered . His skin was very pale and he had light blonde hair.

"Dude, you're so awsome!", the other male human with the dark visor said.

"Yeah, you're the best", the girl said brightly.

"You saved my life!", the shaky man from the vihicle said. "How can I ever repay you?!" Before Jasper could answer, he already continued to speak. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Major Dewy. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss …"

"I'm a Jasper", Jasper said, slightly annoyed. Didn't these humans know anything? She had her gem right on her face.

"What a beautiful name. So you're from Steven's family, I suppose. That's splendid. Yes, I can see the resemblance. No wonder you're a lifesaver. A protector. A hero. We can really be glad to have people like you. I will make sure everyone in Beach City will know of your bravery!" He turned to the Jamie. "What are you still waiting for, boy? Go! Run and tell the press about this. You wouldn't want a good story go to waste like that. Now, would you?"

"No, but I wanted to-"

"Hurry! We have to celebrate Jasper's bravery in the face of danger."

"Oh, okay...", he said in a rather disappointed tone. "We will meet again, my dear Jasper!", he sang and ran away with his satchel full of paper.

"I owe you big time", the major continued. "It's -"

"Dewy! We came as fast as we could. If we hurry, we can still make it to your assignemed!" A man yelled out of a another car, that had parked right next to the Dewy.

"Oh... right, right", the major said in confusion. "If you ever need my help, just call me. Again, I can't thank you enough!", he said to Jasper.

"We need to go!"

"Right! See you around!"

"You're a hero, Jasper! I'm Sour Cream by the way", the pale human said. "And these are my friends Jenny and Buck. "

While the humans kept talking, Jasper glanced at the broken down vehicle, which was now taken away by some other humans. Should she hold them off, so that she could search for some useful weapons? … Nah, something told her, that she wouldn't find anything useful in it. But what should she do, now that she was alone again? She couldn't return to the temple. After poofing the Pearl the others would try to shatter her for sure.

"I need to go", she interrupted the humans, who were still talking about how great she was.

They did the strange waving ritual, which Jasper simply ignored.

Not wanting to bump into other strange humans again, she wandered up a high grassy hill. On top of the hill stood a big tower with a light coming out of it. As she reached the tower, she carefully checked if anybody was there, but she seemed to be alone. That was good. Being alone meant, that nobody was there, trying to shatter or torture her. She would need to drastically change her plan, and quickly. Examining her feelings honestly, she saw that arrogance had led her into error. That arrogance had led her to underestimate her opponents. That's why she was now stranded and probably wanted to be shattered.

She sat in brooding thought, unaware of her surroundings, for several hours, as she reviewed her failed plans. She had been too impatient for success, unwilling to wait before she tasted the fruits of victory. Because of that impatience, she had failed to plan for setbacks and assumed that she would automatically suceed.

Her life had taken a most unpleasant turn ever since she returned to this planet... Jasper's thoughts continued to run, each more depressing and soul crushing than the last.

Jasper went restlessly up and down the hill until she finally sat down and stared at the sea for several moments, as a cold fear gripped her chest. How should she ever survive this with so much water sorrounding her? There was no way of winning, no matter how much she would think about a plan. Not as long as Lapis was around.

She desperatly grapped her hair. She had failed a simle mission. That made her defective. That made her useless.

"Um, hey there", she suddenly heard a soft voice behind her.

Jasper jumped to her feet and turned around, only to see a small male human with oddly shaped yellowish hair.

"I'm Peedee. Um, I thought no one were up here. That's why I came. Sorry, if I startled you."

"What do you want?" Jasper kept her voice calm and level, making certain not to betray any of the fears she kept locking inside her.

"I just... I needed some space between my dad and me", he said slowly.

"Dad?", Jasper repeated.

"Yeah." The Peedee walked over to her and settled himself down on the grass beside her. "He is just so difficult!"

For a moment Jasper kept staring at him. ' _I wonder what I did to make every human think we're so close'_ , she thought. With a slight scowl she decided to sit down beside him. Why was no one here on earth afraid of her, like they should be? Maybe humans were too dumb to recognise her as a threat. Yes, that seemed to be a plausible explanation.

"Wow, those sure are a lot of donuts", the Peedee said and looked at all the boxes.

Jasper had almost forgotten about them. When she saw his excitement, she grabbed a box and gave it to him. "Here, eat some- or don't. I don't care."

"Wow, are you sure you want to share a whole box with me?"

"Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"Thank you so much!" , he said and took the box. "Hey, I haven't even asked you for your name yet."

Jasper signed. "I'm a Jasper."

"A Jasper?", the Peedee asked. "So your name is Jasper?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you say _a Jasper?_ "

"Because that's what I am. I'm a Jasper. One of dozens of other Jaspers who look very similar to me."

"Oh... But there is only one you, not dozens."

"What do you know about gems? You're just a human."

"You see, it does happen every once in a while, that there are humans, that look excatly alike, but they are still their on beings. Even if people look identical and have the same name, it doesn't mean they are the same person. They have their own thoughts and stuffs. Everyone is one of a kind. That's why I would never say I'm a Peedee out of many. It just doesen't make any sense. I'm just Peedee and you're just Jasper. It's as simple as that."

"Amethyst said almost the same to me...", Jasper said darkly, "but you guys just don't get it. This concept worked for thousands of years. Why sould I change my mind about it?"

"But don't you think it's a nice thought? Being an individual person?"

Jasper looked at the tiny human for a moment. He was grinning. Then he stared back at the horizon and quietly ate a second donut. Yeah, it was a nice thought... Somehow... But it wouldn't change anything. She had a task to fulfill. She would get her revenge for what Rose had done to her!

"Why do you humans eat stuff like this. I... I don't quite understand the concept of it."

"Well, it taste good", Peedee said and gave her a donut. "And we need to eat or else we would die."

Jasper took the donut. "So these donuts are energy supplies for you? I always wondered how you people regenerate."

"Well, donuts aren't really healthy but yeah, they give some energy as well. We also need to drink and sleep."

"You humans really are fragile. Just how long do you usually live anyway?", Jasper asked and carefully inspected the donut.

"Um, well, I think the oldest human that has ever lived was about onehundretandten or so. But it's different. Some die much sooner."

Jasper lay the donut back and stared in disbelieve at the tiny human. "But that's so short. How do you manage it to deal with the thought of such a short life span?"

Peedee shrugged. "We just live", he said and stared at the darkening sky. "We're trying to make the most out of it. At least that's what we should do. What I should do." He sighed. "I just realised how silly the argument with my dad was. It was all just because I didn't want to take the weekend off. He said I should have some fun and I refused."

"So you disobeyed a direct order of your superior and are scared of being destroyed?" Jasper asked.

"No, of course not! Dad would never hurt me. He only wants the best for me. We're family after all... Hey Jasper,- thank you."

"For what?"

"For listening and for making me realise that I should make up with my dad. It feels horrible not wanting to talk to him. I was so stubborn and thought I was the only one, who was right and that I was doing the right thing. While he was just trying to help me", he said and stood up. "I hope to see you again, Jasper. You can eat some fries at our restaurant. It's on me. See you!" And with that he ran down the hill and towards beach city.

Jasper watched him out of sight, then she noticed, that she was still holding the donut in her hand. She throw him away and kicked the remaing boxes off the hill as well.

Just in that moment, she saw Amethyst on the beach.

"Oh yeah! It's raining donuts!", she cheered and began dancing in the rainbow colored donut rain, stuffing as many donuts as possible in her mouth.

Jasper backed away. Last thing she need, was the Crystal Gems finding her, even though she wasn't really hiding. She sat back down and wondered why nobody of the Crystal Gems were looking for her. By now they must have seen the mess in their base. So why was nobody searching for her or for Pearl for that matter. Did they simply not care anymore?

Well, to be completly honest, she was not a big threat to them, simply because she was outnumbered. But she had thought that they would at least look for Pearl.

Jasper put her face into her hands, blocking out the world around her once more. As far as she knew, she was the only living quartz soldier out of her colony to have survived the rebellion of the Crystal Gems. Jasper had arrived on Homeworld to find out that heads turned and whispers followed her wherever she went. She was the one perfect Jasper, who had survied, but she was also the Jasper, who had to retreat in the end. Not able to bring victory to Homeworld.

This gem forsaken planet belonged to Pink Diamond not to Rose. It belonged to her colony, not to the Crystal Gems! Rose had taken everything away from her! Everything! Her diamond, her planet, her colony and her dignity!

Jasper took her face out of her hands, opened her eyes and stared at the calm sea, running a finger over her gem. Why should she believe that this boy wasn't in fact Rose? He was just like her, wasn't he?

Yes! She would fight her, once and for all! Jasper was no stranger to pain and injury and if this final battle would mean her death, then so be it! But she would never surrender! She would never forgive! She would never ever let herself manipulated by Rose Quartz!

Jasper listend closely to the silence around her. There was still no sign of any of the Crystal Gems. She kneaded her forehead with her knuckles. But how should she defeat all of the Crystal Gems together? Or should she wait for a moment when Rose was alone? She looked hopelessly around, and her eyes paused on the glowing gem that slowly floated into the air right in front of her.

Pearl was coming back.

Jasper got to her feet. The thought of summoning her weapon passed briefly through Jasper's head, only to be instantly rejected. She wouldn't need it to win a battle against Pearl.

Jasper sighed deeply and folded her arms. _'Here we go again',_ she thought and put the most menacing expression she could master on her face.

"Jasper!" Pearl shrieked and jumped up as though she had received an electric shock.

"Pearl", said Jasper in a casual tone and saw, with some satisfaction, that Pearl looked vaguely panicked.

"You poofed me!"

"And you poofed me", Jasper replyed, still keeping her cool.

"I... suppose I did", Pearl mumbled and looked around. "Is everyone okay? You didn't wonder off to Beach City? You do know how fragile humans are, do you?"

Jasper groaned.

"What is that supposed to mean? Did you harm the humans or didn't you?", Pearl snaped.

"You Crystal Gems and your humans", Jasper grunted and stretched her arms. She was tired of arguing, she even was tired of fighting. Which didn't happen very often to her. All she wanted was a little break. Time to think. But at this point, she would never get one. Well, if the Crystal Gems were dumb enough not to fight her anymore, then she would just ignore them for now. Yes, that seemed to be a solid plan. She let herself fall down to the ground and watched the evening sky.

"Jasper! What are you doing?! I asked you a question!"

"And I don't feel like answering. Go away. Leave me alone", Jasper muttered annoyed and didn't even bothered to look at Pearl anymore.

"Ugh, Jasper, really!" There was a bite of impatience in her voice.

It was quite for several seconds and Jasper thought, Pearl had finally given up, but then she heard her again. "Well, everything seems to be normal from up here. So I guess you didn't go to Beach City after all. Then, what exactly did you do today?"

Jasper didn't answer and pretended she hadn't heard her. It was silent once more but then she heard Pearl coming closer to her. Jasper intinctly strained her muscles in case Pearl was trying to poof her. Instead Pearl sat down beside her and Jasper finally looked at the smaller gem. Pearl's body was relaxed and her face has softened.

"I was afraid you might seriously hurt someone, out of rage and revenge. But you didn't hurt my gem while I was defenseless. I, um... I think I was wrong about you. I thought, well I thought you were just a brute, who would never stop until she gets her revenge and intimidate everyone around her."

"Pearl", said Jasper in low and dangerous voice. "Look at me. I was made to be a brute. I AM a brute. I am intimidating. That's what I am. What I'm supposed to be... That's what I will always be... Now leave me alone already."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"GO!" Jasper spat furiously. "I don't care for any of you pathetic gems! I don't care for the humans! I don't care for anyone! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Jasper..." Pearl began.

"WHAT?!"

"I don't think you're a brute. Alright, maybe you are, but there's more to you. I can see that now... I was wrong."

"Ugh!"

"We're not as different as one might think", Pearl chuckled.

"How is that?"

"We both make a lot of mistakes."

Jasper did not look at the smaller gem, nor could she think of anything to say, though she couldn't resist to smile a little. Yeah, currently she was a master of making mistakes. Over and over again and it really sucked.

"Keep smiling like that and people might actually think you're a nice person", said Pearl pleasantly.

"Zip it."

"Come on, let's go home", said Pearl and stood up.

Jasper looked at her with a blanc face.

"Oh, um... I mean the temple. The others are probably wondering where we might be and we definitely have to clean the mess we made."

Jasper was about to give her a witty answer but then the solution came to her. It was so simple, and so obvious, that she couldn't believe it had taken her so long. Those Crystal Gems seemed to honestly believe they could manipulate her in betraying Homeworld and join their little team. But that was absolutly perfect! All she needed to do, was playing along until she would get a moment in which she would be finally alone with Rose. She would get her revenge after all!

"You don't have to be afraid", the Pearl continued. "No one is going to hurt you. I just explain-"

"I AM NOT AFRAID!", Jasper burst out. "You're acting as if I would need your pity! But I don't need it! I don't need you or anyone else! You can choose, fight me or leave me but I'm not willing to listen to your jabbering one more second!" Jasper barked but then she bit herself on the lip. ' _I need to be nicer or they never let me near him._ ' she thought.

"Oh Jasper, why does it always have to end in a fight. Why can't you just talk about-"

"I was made for fighting! Not for talking or do I look like a Sapphire to you?!" Jasper groaned mentally. She did it again. _'Come on, say something nice! It can't be that hard.'_

 _'Hey Pearl, I'm really sorry for what had happened. Please, can I stay in the tempel, so I can shatter Rose in privat?'_ Even in her head the words sounded stupid.

Jasper took a deep, steadying breath and then said, "I'm, um... sorry, I guess..." She looked away quickly as though frightened of hurting her eyes. This was so embarrassing!

Pearl stared at Jasper for several moments, probably asking herself, if Jasper had finally lost it.

As the awkward silence began to stretch, Jasper said in a gruffy tone, "Happy now?"

"Delighted!" Pearl said brightly and gave Jasper a small clap on her arm. "You're finally making some progress. Come on! I can't wait to tell the others."

Fighting the urge to poof Pearl again, Jasper followed her.


End file.
